A Special Zoo for Magic Beasts
There were many ways to handle leftover food, but the one Jungwoo had in mind was something only possible here at the amusement park.
There was, of course, the option of giving it to the staff members who had just taken their order and prepared the food.
But in Jungwoo's opinion, bringing food to them now felt a little late.
It would have been better to offer it when they first started eating, back when it was clear there would be far too much. Saying something like, "We brought extra because we thought there might be leftovers," would have been appropriate then.
Handing it over after they'd already been eating like this would be no different from asking them to deal with the scraps.
So this time, he decided to head somewhere special.
When Seia heard the plan, her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"Before we go, Daddy will buy you one more drink."
"Blue lemon!"
She hadn't finished the first one yet, but he wanted to show her another flavor. The fact that both the syrup and the soda were zero-sugar was the biggest reason he could offer another so easily.
"Would you like to pick this time, Seia?"
"Me?"
There were no models to look at. She would have to choose purely from the words written on the menu board.
"You can pick from over there."
He pointed to the section listing smoothies and ades that weren't coffee. Seia's eyes lit up as she began examining each option one by one.
"Peach iced tea... lemon iced tea..."
She went through the rest as well—strawberry smoothie, cookie frappuccino, and more. There were nearly twenty different kinds.
Out of all those choices, what Seia picked was...
"Earl grey mikti?"
"Earl Grey milk tea?"
Of all things, she had to choose that one. Jungwoo himself loved it, but it was definitely a drink that divided opinions.
Earl Grey was black tea, after all, and that distinctive aroma tended to be a love-it-or-hate-it thing.
"Is the Earl Grey milk tea available in zero sugar too?"
"Yes. We just need to change the syrup, so it's possible."
"Hmm..."
"Would you like one Earl Grey milk tea?"
The staff member looked at Seia with clear interest in her eyes. She knew too—that this was a drink with strong opinions attached.
"Yes, please. Just one."
The drink arrived quickly. Unlike the vibrant blue one from before, the Earl Grey milk tea was a soft apricot color.
It had shifted from a refreshing, cool tone to something warm and comforting.
"What do you think?"
"It's pretty!"
Fortunately, apricot still fell within the brown shades that Seia liked. The color passed her test, at least. Now the real question was the taste.
Since the color had already earned her approval, her expectations were a bit higher. Seia accepted the milk tea with eyes full of anticipation.
Slurp!
A short but intense sound rang out as the clear straw filled with the apricot-colored liquid.
"Eh?"
The flavor that hit her tongue was sweet, but the distinctive taste and aroma of the black tea came through even stronger.
"Mmm..."
Apparently unsure after one sip, Seia took another loud slurp.
"Haha, what does it taste like?"
"Eww... soap..."
"Haha, it tastes like soap?"
Soap did smell nice. It just didn't taste good. To Seia, soap and milk tea were apparently in the same category.
"Then Daddy will drink this one."
Having half-expected this outcome, Jungwoo had already ordered a backup drink. They'd had something sweet-and-sour before, so this time he went with pure sweetness.
"Here's your cookie frappuccino."
"Thank you."
Seia had been wrinkling her nose at the mysterious flavor of the milk tea, but she seemed to like the scent. She kept sniffing at it, twitching her nose.
"Haha, so the smell is okay?"
"It smells like soap!"
A food that smelled and tasted like soap. Seia looked genuinely shocked.
"Here, give that to Daddy and try this instead."
"What's this one?"
"It's called a cookie frappuccino."
"Cookie... mmm, okay!"
She had tried to repeat the words after him, but this was a new term for her, so she gave up quickly.
The cookie-whatever Daddy gave her had a snowy white base dotted with little black specks everywhere. Visually, the milk tea had suited her taste better.
Perhaps because of that, Seia attacked the thicker straw with determination, fully intending to like this one more.
The drink slowly rose through the straw. The moment it hit her mouth, the icy chill greeted her first, followed by sweet flavor and the crunchy bits of cookie.
"Delicious!"
"Haha. Finally satisfied, huh?"
Luckily, this one was a hit. It was a combination that was hard to dislike.
"Alright, this time Daddy will carry you specially."
"Hehe."
Since she couldn't hold it with one hand, Jungwoo lifted her up into his arms so she could eat comfortably. Nestled snugly against his chest, Seia held the remaining blue lemonade in one hand and the cookie frappuccino in the other, alternating between them with great care.
Sweet and sour, then sweet and crunchy. Everything tasted good, and being held in Daddy's warm embrace made it even better.
With Seia in his arms, Jungwoo headed toward a newly added attraction.
It was a place where magic beasts brought out from gates had been tamed and turned into something like a zoo.
Their killing instincts had been removed, and they were well-trained. There weren't many varieties yet, but it was still quite popular.
I think they said the one you can see today is a slime.
It was an area where you could safely observe them with a hunter guide.
Since it wasn't far, they arrived quickly.
"Are you here for the tour?"
"Yes. We made a reservation."
"Helloooo!"
"Oh my, hello?"
The staff member waiting for guests was startled when she saw Seia.
"Is this your little sister?"
"Haha, no. She's my daughter."
It was a question that secretly pleased Jungwoo. Not "Is she your daughter?" but "Is she your sister?"
"Wow... I thought so. You two look alike. Ah, as you know, today is the slime tour day."
"Yes. When does it start?"
"It'll begin soon. Did you bring food for them?"
"Yes. Would this be okay?"
What Jungwoo showed her was the kimbap they'd left over from earlier. Or rather, what had tried to become kimbap.
"Oh, this is..."
The staff member's expression suggested she wasn't quite sure what to call it. The ingredients said kimbap, but the appearance said otherwise.
My daughter made it...
Jungwoo mouthed the words so Seia wouldn't hear. The staff member smiled in understanding.
"It's kimbap!"
"Haha, that's right."
Seia, who had seemed completely uninterested, gave a tiny flinch at the word "kimbap."
"The kids will enjoy it. Please wait over there."
"Thank you."
Each guide only handled one group at a time. That way, if any problems arose, they could respond properly.
While they waited on one side, the hunter who would be their guide for the day arrived.
Her outfit somehow reminded him of a special forces unit. She wore tight-fitting clothes, and her belt around the shoulders and waist held small daggers and even a gun.
"Hello! I'll be your guide today. My name is Kim Seo-yun."
"Hello."
"Helloooo!"
Because she still had the straw in her mouth, her pronunciation was even more pronounced. The guide smiled warmly, lowered herself to Seia's eye level, and gave a little wave.
"Whoa... you're so cool!"
"Hm? Me?"
"Yes! Unni!"
Seia had never seen clothes like this before. She had seen people wearing lots of gear, but this was different from the usual kind. The items were large and chunky, and their design felt more stylish than pretty.
"Hehe, I do hear that quite often, actually."
"Whoa..."
The guide gave a small shrug before turning around.
"Shall we head out now? Savior-nim?"
At the word "savior," Seia's shoulders seemed to lift a little with pride.
"Yes, let's go."
Following the guide inside, they entered an area quite different from a typical zoo. Usually when viewing animals, you watched from outside the enclosures.
But this tour was different. You could go in, touch them, and even give them the food you'd brought.
"It's tanning time right now, actually."
"Tanning?"
"Yes. Surprisingly, slimes really like sunlight. They need it to digest what they've eaten."
After passing through several corridors, they emerged into a wide field that felt more like a meadow.
"Wow..."
"Whoa..."
Father and daughter let out simultaneous gasps. They'd come to an amusement park, but neither had expected to see something like this. It felt more like they'd arrived at a quiet tourist spot.
"Daddy! Daddy!"
At that moment, Seia's excited voice rang out. She tugged at Jungwoo with her small hand as if urging him to look.
"What is it?"
"Over there!"
When he looked where she was pointing, he saw a small, round creature bouncing rhythmically.
It had eyes and a mouth as tiny as its body. This was the first time he'd ever seen a slime with eyes and a mouth.
"Oh, that bouncing means it's saying hello."
"Ah, so it's greeting us with its body?"
"That's right for most of them. They can't make sounds, you see."
Jungwoo had wondered if slimes made a "kyuu" sound, but apparently that wasn't the case.
Because of its small size, it couldn't jump very high, but one slime was bouncing its way over toward them.
"That's interesting. They don't usually approach strangers first like this."
"Really?"
"Yes. Since they're at the very bottom of the food chain, they rarely come forward first."
In truth, the guide knew the one situation in which a slime would approach first.
There was exactly one case: when it wanted to protect something that looked weaker than itself.
Such cases were extremely rare because slimes ate everything from small insects upward. They simply couldn't eat anything bigger than themselves. They instinctively knew those were stronger.
"It seems this one really likes your daughter."
"Seia?!"
"Yes. Would you like to give it food yourself, Seia?"
"Yes! Seia wants to!"
The slime had already come quite close. It was wiggling from side to side in place.
"What does this mean?"
"This also means it's happy to see you. From far away they bounce, but up close they wiggle like this, almost like a little shoulder dance."
And that slime's greeting was directed precisely at Seia.
"Would you like to pet it?"
"C-can I?"
"Of course. They dissolve food to eat it, but their outer surface is perfectly safe."
At the guide's words, Jungwoo finally set Seia down. He took the drinks for her and placed the leftover food from earlier into her now-empty hands.
"U-um, hello?"
Seia greeted the creature shyly. The slime wiggled closer to her, then began rubbing its body against her like a cat.
"So cuuute...!"
The slime was about half Seia's height. At just the right level for her to reach, she slowly stroked it.
The feeling was completely different from petting a cat. It was soft, yet springy. If you poked it with a finger, it would bounce back with a satisfying boing.
Faced with this bouncy, plump little creature, Seia made the same expression that other people usually made when they looked at her.